Collin sighed before kneeling on one knee.
“Aye. Me mother-by-the-law believes in ye an me Annie swears ye have magical hands. Besides, these mangy beasties go nowhere near anyone but the Laird, an yet here they be, allowin ye to pet them like lap dogs.” He shook his head. “These beasties would no if ye be a bad sort.”
Skye swallowed when he mentioned magical but he seemed to brush it off as if he didn’t mean it literally.
“Please, Collin. I don’t belong here. Is there some way I can be taken back to where you found me?”
He frowned as if he’d discovered what he said might have been wrong. “Why?”
“I just know that if I can get back to where you found me, I can get home.”
He crouched down in front of her. “Where be home, lass?”
She sighed and turned away, wrapping her arms around her bent legs. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why canna ye tell?”
“Because no matter how much I would like to believe nothing will happen if I did tell you, I could be wrong.”
“I be sorry, lass, I doona ken of what ye speak.”
“I know.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“Och, doona cry.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not really a crier. I just never felt so . . . lost.”
“Aye, a terrible feelin that can be.” He rubbed his face. “Maybe I can get a letter to yer clan?”
Skye snorted. “No thanks.”
“I be tryin to help but ye keep hinderin me ideas.”
She looked at the man and tried to read his shadowed face.
“I know and I thank you for the help, really, but there is nothing you can do.” She sighed, turning her body away from him and slumping further against the bars.
Collin nodded. “Except to return ye to that place we found ye.”
“That would be ideal.” She said watching the corners nervously for rats.
“Returnin ye is no up it me.”
“Let me guess, it’s up to the council.”
“Nay, tis up to me.”
They both turned to see Aiden standing in the passageway.
Heart pounding in her chest, Skye slowly stood, braving the hardened look and the set lines of his angry face, like a determined angel of war.
“What else have ye lied about?”
Her chin went up. “I have tried my hardest to not lie.”
“By withholdin information.” He curtly responded.
Skye pursed her lips together and refused to comment.
Stepping forward, Aiden placed a hand on Collin’s shoulder.
“Ye tried. Now it be my turn.”
Skye gasped as she looked at the telltale blush on Collin’s face.
Turning away from both, not caring that Collin left her alone with Aiden, she tried to deal with the feeling of betrayal even though she knew the reason for it.
“I want answers.”
“I want to go home.” She replied angrily, turning to glare at him. “Who do you think will get what they want first?”
Aiden seemed to notice Seelie for the first time. He frowned as he knelt beside her and checked on her breathing and examined the chewed rope he used to keep her tied in his study.
“She’s only sleeping.” She crossed her arms in defiance. “What? Did you think I was a murderer too?”
Aiden kept his shock to himself. Never before had someone stood up to him like this woman did. Except for the brazen ones who wished to share his bed thereby gaining some form of power within his household, most maidens cowered from him.
This lass was either daft or brave. Of the two, he had to find out which, soon.
“The council believes ye to be a spy sent to breach our gates an weaken us to attack.”
“I know.” Seemingly deflated by the facts, she rested her face between the bars, hands clasped on either side. “If I didn’t know me and was in your position, I would have little choice but to believe the same thing.”
Aiden watched as she turned to step away then catch sight of a rat as it scurried across her cell and press her back involuntarily against the bars, recoiling in horror.
He was surprised at the need to touch her, to remove her from the smell this place emitted, but he had his clan to think of.
“I just want to go home.” She whispered, turning to look at him. “I don’t want to harm anyone. I am a good person.”
Aiden watched as she turned away, swiping at her eyes before facing him again, her jaw clenched.
“Just take me back to the place you found me.”
“I canna do that.”
“Then give me a horse and directions and I will go myself.” She pleaded.
He crossed his arms in silence, watching her revealing features as she battled with something inside herself.
Realizing it was useless, she let go of the bars she’d grabbed and licked her lips.
He watched her closely, not knowing if she had no clue her emotions showed so easily or if it she was purposely showing an inner struggle.
Skye felt lost, scared that she was losing a battle that would lead to certain death no matter the outcome.
Her shoulders sagged for a moment as she gathered her thoughts before she straightened her spine and stood tall again.
“I am a good person.”
“To whom, lass? To the greedy English who attempt to weaken us so they can take our lands? To the Reivers that kill livestock without reason but the simple pleasure of butcherin? Both of which have killed, crippled, raped, an enslaved our women an children.”
Never taking her eyes from him, although filled with pain, she reached out and touched him.
When he stepped out of her reach, she took a hold of the bars and looked him in the eyes as she spoke.
“I am sorry this happens here. However, this is not how I was raised. To know this kind of fear or to cause fear . . . or pain, or death.”
She refused to think of the heart attack she’d given the man who had tried to rape her, knowing it wasn’t the same thing.
“Pshht lass, tis no sech place.”
“I am not saying it doesn’t happen, Lord Aiden. I am saying I do not live with that as a part of my environment.”
“Tell me where this place is that ye live.”
She looked down, knowing she couldn’t give him the answers he wanted and afraid of burning at the stake if she did.
What would happen if he didn’t believe her? She could well imagine the loony bin in a time and place like this.
Skye shivered at the vivid image that brought about as much as the fear of what could happen if he did believe her.
“Just get me back to where you found me.” She pleaded again.
“I wilna do that.”
Skye searched his eyes and when she found no leniency, she nodded. “Then I am to be a prisoner, kept in this cell until when? I die?”
“I canna ken what the council will decide.”
“You have no say?”
His chest puffed out. “I be Laird.”
As if that said it all, he gingerly scooped up Seelie and walked off.
Watching him walk away and taking both dogs with him made Skye feel more alone than before.
Then she noticed he’d left the torch behind!
“Sarah!”
* * *
Dammit! She’d been trying for what felt like hours to contact Sarah until the flame dimmed before flickering out.
Sliding down the bars in the near darkness, Skye whimpered in exhaustion.
Lying her throbbing head on her bent knees, Skye wondered if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn she had heard her sister just before the torch had sputtered out.
Her stomach had stopped growling about the same time she heard the servants clearing the dinner table in the other room. They were going to either starve her to death or make her so hungry she would tell them everything.
There was no way she was just going to sit here in failure.
Ther
e was a spell that would work. There had to be!
She just had to think of one, make sure it was fireproof and waterproof, and then she’d be home.
Her head snapped up as she heard the scurrying of rats on the other side of the dank, dark cell. Wanting to climb on top of the cot to get off the ground crossed her mind but it was on the other side in the darkness where the rats seemed to like staying so she curled and tucked her toes under her dress, fighting the tremors that racked her body.
Rabid cougars and rats were at the top of her list for creatures that petrified her.
Sometime later, the dim glow at the end of the passage from the fire in the main hall extinguished leaving her in complete darkness.
Shivering involuntarily, Skye tried convincing herself it was from the cold, not fear.
The clicking of tiny nails grew closer only to dart away when she moved as the night dragged on endlessly.
There was a time when she had fallen asleep and her body slouched against the wall, only to wake up to sharp teeth gnawing at her toes. She shrieked and scrambled to her feet, head dizzy at the sudden movement. She tried in vain to see but there was only blackness.
Skye whimpered, feeling her bare feet exposed but too afraid to bring herself closer to the rats by kneeling again. It was too late to climb onto the cot since she couldn’t see her hand on front of her face.
Her imagination went wild, picturing them coming out of every crack in the walls to feed on her.
Why couldn’t she have Sarah’s powers of fire so she could create a flame to keep the rats away?
Whiskers tickled her toe just before she felt little paws balancing on the top of her foot making her screech in horror, thankful when it ran off.
Sobbing, Skye sunk to the floor, once again covering her feet with the dress. She thought of the corner to her right. It was only a couple of feet away, she could brace herself there and have more of her body protected.
Once in the corner, she actually felt a little relief.
Knowing movement kept the rats away, she rocked, humming to keep the terror from overtaking her as she listened to the creatures scurrying on the other side of the cell.
All throughout the night, the rats kept her awake. She would shriek and wave her arms in front of her, sometimes touching one as it hurried away from her attacks, and then she would go back to rocking and humming.
* * *
Aiden found her huddled in the corner, feet hidden under her skirt, arms tucked between her legs and chest, head resting on her knees.
She didn’t move when he unlocked the cell and came in and didn’t raise her head when he approached but when he reached out to touch her shoulder, she came alive, her screams piercing the dimness as she lashed out blindly.
He tried to calm her, not understanding where this behavior came from but she didn’t hear him as she screamed and cursed.
Then he heard her say something about rats and realization dawned.
He grabbed her arms and pulled her up, holding her close to his chest so she couldn’t claw at him.
“Skye. Calm down, lass. Tis Aiden.” He held her tighter, continued to use soothing words, until she finally recognized his voice.
She latched onto him, crying uncontrollably as she looked around the cell.
“Rats! Oh, my God, rats. They were everywhere, biting me!” She clutched his tartan.
“Tis alri-”
“Please, please, anything, I’ll tell you everything! I swear. Please, just get me out of here.” She pleaded as huge tears rolled down her face.
“I did it.” She hurried on when he didn’t do anything, her face twisted around to watch for the rats.
He stiffened. “Ye did what?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know! Everything! Anything! Name it. I did it! I planned it all, everything!”
Aiden realized she was rambling with fear and lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the cell.
She wouldn’t let go of him, even once grabbing his face to make him look at her as she pleaded. “Please, just make it fast.”
“Make what fast, leanabh?”
“When you kill me, make it fast. Just please don’t burn me.”
She searched his face then buried her head against his chest, arms locking around his neck whispering repeatedly against his collarbone that she had done whatever it was they wanted to think she had done.
He stumbled on the stairs as his heart felt like it was being cleaved in two.
Her tears soaked thru his shirt as her body trembled violently.
He kissed the top of her head, his chest feeling tight.
“I dinna ken, lass. I swear to ye, I dinna ken.” He crooned as he came across Collin at the top of the stairs where he motioned for him to follow.
His friend held the door open as they got to his chamber and closed it behind him, leaving Collin outside. He crossed over to a chair and sank into the cushions.
When Skye felt the downward motion, she started crying out, gripping him harder, believing he was putting her back in the cell.
“Nay, tis alright. I no be puttin ye down.” He soothed as he settled her over his lap. “Tis alright, ghaol. I wilna be leavin ye.”
He stayed like that, her head tucked under his chin, arms wrapped around her and speaking gently until her body stopped trembling, never once showing the anger he felt.
Not anger towards the woman in his arms, but at himself.
When he left her after discovering she was able to speak and understand Gaelic, Aiden had been livid, having believed in her innocence and his mother’s assurance she was telling the truth during the interrogation that he’d told the council to wait until morning to discuss what to do with the girl. Unable to sleep, he went over every detail from the moment he had seen her until the conversation the night before and his battle-hardened instincts told him, no matter how he looked at it, she was no enemy.
He had gone before the council, warriors themselves, and had listened to their concerns of an English girl appearing as she did and unwilling to answer questions.
As Aiden listened to their arguing, he became frustrated that his own clan elders could not come to an agreeable solution.
Having heard enough, he stood up and said he was going to remove her from the dungeon.
When that raised concern, he explained that they would keep an eye on her, and if she were involved with the enemy, catching her would be easier if she was free to move about on her own.
They hesitated in their agreement but he was finally able to extricate himself from the meeting and hurried off to get her, unwilling to think about why he was going instead of sending another.
Shaking himself out of his reverie as he felt her body relaxing, he took a deep breath and tried to control the reaction he was having to her nearness.
She smelled of the dungeon and still his cock swelled. From the moment she’d walked into the hall, hair plaited like a Scotswoman, gown hugging her woman’s curves, his cock had been erect, another reason he’d become so angry when he’d discovered what he believed to be betrayal.
He whispered things in English and Gaelic of no significance, smoothing over her tangled hair even after she fell asleep.
* * *
Skye lifted her head and looked unseeingly at the face in front of her.
Feeling depleted, her mind was unable to sort out the dream she was having and just how it went from a nightmare to the feeling of being safe and secure. Too tired to know anything else but the feeling of being wrapped in a warm cocoon, she lazily adjusted herself and rested her head back down, inhaling the comforting sent of earth and man before drifting back to sleep.
Aiden watched in curiosity as her eyes tried to focus then barely held back a groan when the lass rubbed against him causing his cock to swell again. Gritting his teeth, he waited for her breathing to even out and then waited for his manhood to ease, promising himself he would seek out Mairi from the kitchens to relieve his lust.
* * *
It felt like forever before Skye could open her eyes and find out what that delicious smell was but when she did, she found herself weighted down by the warmest comforter she’d ever had. Rising up on her elbows and letting the comforter fall from covering her face, she saw someone familiar supervising servants as they filled a small tub with hot water.
“Good morn to ye, lass. I thought ye would enjoy a light repast to break your fast and then a bath. When ye are done, perhaps ye would enjoy having a larger meal with Anna and myself?”
Skye blinked several times and looked around covering her nakedness. “Anna?”
“My daughter.” She paused and looked up. “Unless ye prefer to be alone?”
“Ummm.” Pushing her hair from her eyes, she gave herself a moment to remember where she was. “No, I would enjoy the company.” She smiled tentatively, still confused.
“Excellent. My name is Elizabeth.” She said, returning her smile and went back to overseeing the bath. When it was completed, she motioned to the table. “There be some pastries and jam. The loo for ye to . . .” She searched for the right words and blushed. “relieve yourself in, is down the hall.”
“Thank you.”
Ekizabeth indicated a beautiful girl with large breasts beside her. “Mairi here will show ye where it is.”
Skye thanked her again.
“Anna and I shall join ye in, say an hour?”
Skye nodded and watched as the woman left.
Mairi standing at the door waiting impatiently once they were alone.
“I have thins to do an no time to get it done.” As if in afterthought, she added grudgingly. “If ye please.”
Skye made quick work of the ‘loo’ and returned to the bedroom where the girl left her alone. She hastily downed the jam and pastries, enjoying the splash of sugar that filled her mouth while she quickly removed the borrowed robe.
Making sure the pastries were in easy reach, she climbed into the tub not caring that the bath was only a large basin that she had to kneel in. She was just glad to be getting rid of the smell on her body and hair.
Looking around the room as she scrubbed, feeling shame that the bed had been clean when she’d slept in it, Skye eyed the furs piled on top and figured that was what she had thought had been the comforter.
The Highlander’s Witch Page 5